We will invest in Canada’s North, to help northern Canadians with the high cost of living, and help our northern economies grow.

Canada’s North is a vast and beautiful part of the world, home to a rich culture and tremendous economic potential. Because of its isolation, however, it is also a very expensive place to live.

The Northern Residents Deduction was designed to help mitigate these higher costs, and help attract workers to the North. Unfortunately, the deduction amount has not kept pace with inflation, making its help less valuable to those who need it.

To help northern residents with higher costs of living, and to help our northern economies grow, we will increase the residency component of the deduction by 33 percent to a maximum of $22 per day. We will also index this benefit so that it keeps pace with inflation.

To ensure that northern families have access to affordable, healthy food, we will increase investments in the Nutrition North program by $40 million, over four years. We will also work with northern and remote communities to ensure that the program is more transparent, effective, and accountable to northerners and other Canadians.

As part of new, ten-year investments in social infrastructure and green infrastructure, we will prioritize investment in affordable housing and climate change preparedness, both of which are important to the quality of life for northern Canadians.

For residents in Canada’s Northern Zone, our enhanced Northern Residents Deduction will provide a new annual maximum deduction of $8,000 per year, from the $6,022 currently available.

Those living in the Intermediate Zone will see their annual maximum deduction rise to $4,000 from $3,011 per year.

In total, this enhanced deduction represents a $50 million annual tax savings for Northern Canadians.